Camper Trailer - Cameron or Camel?

Maybe you should considering hiring a camper until you figure out exactly what YOU want in a camper. Its very personal and has to take into account what you want to do with it & not just other owners biased opinions. After all, we all own the best money can buy.
We bought a cheap crappy $5k chinese unit to play with whilst we figured out what we wanted/hated.

Have you attended any 4x4 camping shows to see whats on offer & gather ideas?

Johnno's Campers hire out a large range of styles. Probably other makes near you also.
Maybe the sellers would let you hire their units for a weekend?

Have a look here fvor some suggestions.

Campertrailer

Paul

Nightowl5

I have a 2013 Cameron camper and it is great. Easy to erect, easy to tow, very well constructed and everything I would want. I once found a small amount of dust inside but that was after going through miles of bulldust, otherwise it has never allowed ingress of dust.

Their easy up design is fantastic as a child can erect it and there is no need to use pegs. I don't know if the easy up design was used in 2004.

I know nothing about the Camel so I cannot comment on that brand. You would however not go wrong with the Cameron. It is a quality Australian manufactured product.


Tjilpi

I owned a Camel for 8 years. Australian made and high quality everything - trailer, canvas, zippers, etc. I also towed with a Commodore Sportwagon and it was a breeze with economy around 12.5 on the highway. I used weight dsitribution bars that made the drive and handling much better. It had a nice deep trailer so no problem with storage. Based on my experience, I'd go the Camel, espcially given the age difference for the same price.

this site is dedicated to camper trailers, so might be useful for you
myswag.org

Common models will prob have been reviewed on productreview.com.au

There are many designs as well as makers and it's hard to get reliable info on them all.

Hiring one or two designs is a really good idea, as suggested by Malcolm. A CT is like a portable house and think of how much variation there is in houses, and how simple design and quality details can get up your nose!

The big difference is between hard and soft floor units and to generalise, by comparison soft floor CT's are cheaper, lighter, have more storage and living space, and take longer to fully set up.

Also take care to get the tow ball weight of any model you're interested in when it's fully loaded. It won't take much to compress the rear suspension of the Commodore so lifting the front end and making it potentially unsafe. The only way out is a WDH.

Good luck with your quest.

Hi mate. we like yourself were in this position way back when. Over many years we have tried all variety's available right up to a jayco camper. All were second hand and all were Australian made , the benefits of purchasing a camper in the era you are looking at is you can be almost certain that the product was made here with local canvas and a trailer at least welded together here ( where the steel originated from is another thing ).
Cameron area brilliant oz made trailer, the quality of stitching is up there with the best and if cared for would last for years. The only downside and I have found this with most campers made in the southern states is the windows/ventilation is a bit on the small side. That's just me though.
I believe from memory we have paid no more than $6000 ( jayco ) for any and there have been at least one of every style in the last 15 to 20 years. None have leaked or broken down, just give it a good look over, if it looks well cared for has no rust in the trailer and all the zips work your halfway there.
Throw a new set of bearings at it for peace of mind and your all good.
The benefit of not outlaying big bucks is that when it comes to selling nine times out of ten you get your money back. Most if not all people are confident in buying a well looked after OZ made one of that era over a newer same price chinker.